Hurricane Season

Every year we are forced to reinvent ourselves, growing
shabbier. Perhaps uncertainty comes from the shifty
breath of Hurricanes, their unlocked eyes revolving
always counterclockwise. Watchful. Unmaking us.

– Olive Senior, “Hurricane Watch” (2022)

Every year from June 1 through November 30, people across the Caribbean archipelago hold their breath. It’s hurricane season. Hurricanes and the devastation they bring have long been a part of life in the Caribbean, but with climate change, these storms are getting far more violent. They pick up steam faster than ever before, leaving little time to prepare. The aftermaths of storms are unbearable and shed light on the living legacy of colonialism and ongoing political corruption. Yet even as the effects of climate change wreak havoc on the region, life across the archipelago continues. People adapt. They weather the storm, even as they are weathered by it.

“Hurricane Season” features 58 works in a range of media by six artists from across the Caribbean archipelago and its diaspora: Firelei Báez, Lionel Cruet, Teresita Fernández, Tamika Galanis, Deborah Jack, and Hew Locke.

These artists demonstrate the crucial role arts can play in this unfolding crisis by translating data sets and dire predictions into relatable terms, reframing the conversation around how changes in the climate relate to everyday lived experiences as well as to notions of community, family, and home. Through art, they succeed in converting a global crisis into human scale, acknowledging the grim realities of the climate crisis by emphasizing its toll on people and yet, also the possibilities of a better future. It is an exhibition about homes under threat as well as cycles of environmental violence and repair.

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